Palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodide,aromatic bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene: A new route for poly(p‐phenylene vinylene)

A novel synthetic method for soluble precursor polymers of poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives by the palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodides, aromatic bis(boronic acid) derivatives, and norbornadiene is described. For example, the polymerization of 1,4‐diiodo‐2,5‐dioctyloxybenzene, benzene‐1,4‐bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene at 100 °C for 3 days provided a polymer consisting of the three monomer units in a 97% yield (number‐average molecular weight = 3100, weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.37). A derivative of PPV was produced smoothly by the retro Diels–Alder reaction of the polymer both in a dodecyloxybenzene solution and in a film at 200 °C in vacuo. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3403–3410, 2005     

Single-shot digital holography separating the real and imaginary parts of a signal beam in the rhombic region of the Fourier plane

Optical Review - We propose a new single-shot digital holography that measures the complex amplitude high precisely using a single image sensor. In this technology, a signal beam passes through a...     

An incremental theory of large strain and large displacement problems and its finite element formulation

Summary This paper is concerned with the development of an incremental finite'element theory for the large strain and the large displacement problems, referred to the current configuration of the body. Using the convected coordinate system which is embedded in the body, the incremental representations of strain and stress tensors and the energy relations are presented, and then the general procedure to construct the so-called element stiffness matrix in incremental form is considered. The finite element formulation is developed for a typical constitutive relation and it is shown that some correction matrices, some of which have been omitted in the previous works, are to be added to the element stiffness matrix. Finally the method to assemble the equations of the element to the global system is discussed and a simple finite element model satisfying the compatibility condition is presented.The finite element theory developed in this paper is able to be extended to the problems for the general thermodynamical process of a broad class of nonlinear materials.

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Übersicht Mit Hilfe der Methode der finiten Elemente wird eineZuwachstheorie zurBehandlung von Problemen mit endlicher Verformung abgeleitet. Dabei wird ein im Körper eingebettetes, der momentanen Form angepaßtes Bezugssystem verwendet. Es werden Ausdrücke für die Energie sowie für die Änderungen der Spannungs- und Verformungs-Tensoren abgeleitet und es wird ein Verfahren zur Konstruktion der Steifigkeitsmatrix für ein Element angegeben. Ein typisches Stoffgesetz wird dabei zugrundegelegt. Dabei zeigt es sich, daß einige in früheren Arbeiten vernachlässigte Korrektur-Matrizen zu der Steifigkeits-Matrix des Elementes hinzugefügt werden müssen. Die Möglichkeiten der Zusammenfassung der für die Elemente geltenden Gleichungen zu einem globalen Gleichungssystem werden diskutiert und es wird ein den Verträglichkeitsbedingungen genügendes Elemente-Modell angegeben.Das angegebene Verfahren kann für allgemeine thermodynamische Prozesse in einer breiten Klasse nichtlinearer Materialien erweitert werden.

     

Fe K‐Edge X‐ray Absorption Fine Structure Determination of γ‐Al2O3‐Supported Iron‐Oxide Species

The structure of FeO_x species supported on γ‐Al₂O₃ was investigated by using Fe K‐edge X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The samples were prepared through the impregnation of iron nitrate on Al₂O₃ and co‐gelation of aluminum and iron sulfates. The dependence of the XRD patterns on Fe loading revealed the formation of α‐Fe₂O₃ particles at an Fe loading of above 10 wt %, whereas the formation of iron‐oxide crystals was not observed at Fe loadings of less than 9.0 wt %. The Fe K‐edge XAFS was characterized by a clear pre‐edge peak, which indicated that the Fe?O coordination structure deviates from central symmetry and that the degree of Fe?O?Fe bond formation is significantly lower than that in bulk samples at low Fe loading (<9.0 wt %). Fe K‐edge extended XAFS oscillations of the samples with low Fe loadings were explained by assuming an isolated iron‐oxide monomer on the γ‐Al₂O₃ surface.     

Non-synchronous oscillations in four-dimensional nonlinear semelparous Leslie matrix models

In a certain class of semelparous Leslie matrix models, either a positive equilibrium is stable and an invariant set on the boundary of the nonnegative cone is unstable or vice versa generically if the model dimension is two or three. This dynamic dichotomy is expected to be failed in the four-dimensional case. Our study focuses on a semelparous Leslie matrix model with specific nonlinearities and rigorously proves that the dynamic dichotomy does not hold in the four-dimensional case. This result is derived by showing that the four-dimensional semelparous Leslie matrix model can be uniformly persistent with respect to the boundary of the nonnegative cone even if there exists an unstable positive equilibrium. In such a situation, there are no missing age-classes but population oscillation occurs.     

Regulation of cellular responses to macroporous inorganic films prepared by the inverse-opal method

Regenerative medicine for repairing damaged body tissues has recently become critically important. Cell culture scaffolds are required for the control of cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation in in vitro cell cultures. A new strategy to control cell adhesion, morphology, and proliferation was developed by culturing mouse osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells on novel cell culture scaffolds fabricated using ordered nanometer-sized pores (100, 300, 500, and 1000 nm). Results of this study indicate that after 72 h of incubation, the number of cells cultured on a silica film with a pore size of 1000 nm was similar to or slightly lower than that cultured on a non-porous control silica film. Films with 100-500 nm pore sizes, however, resulted in the cell growth inhibition. Morphology of the cultured cells revealed increased elongation and the formation of actin stress fibers was virtually absent on macroporous silica films with 100-500 nm pore size. Vinculin molecules expressed in cells cultured on the non-porous silica films showed many clear focal adhesions, whereas focal contacts were insufficiently formed in cells cultured on macroporous films. The influence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and alumina scaffolds on the behavior of MC3T3-E1 cells was also evaluated. The proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on HAp films with 1000 nm pore size was increased to approximately 20% above than that obtained of cells cultured on non-porous HAp films. These results demonstrate that the pore size and constituents of films play a role in controlling the morphology and proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells.     

Chromophores of the green fluorescent protein studied in the gas phase

Absorption of gas-phase biomolecules has been studied at the heavy-ion storage ring ELISA. Here we discuss the absorption characteristics of the chromophores of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The gas-phase absorption maximum of the deprotonated chromophore (anion form) is at 479 nm. This is almost identical to one of the two absorption maxima of the protein, being at 477 nm, which is ascribed to a deprotonated chromophore in the protein. The protonated chromophore (cation form) has a maximum at 406 nm in the gas phase. We compare the gas-phase results with absorption profiles of GFP and chromophores in liquids, and argue that the absorption characteristics of GFP are mainly ascribed to intrinsic chemical properties of the chromophore. Evidently, the special β-can structure of GFP provides shielding of the chromophore from the surroundings without significantly changing the electronic structure of the chromophore through interactions with amino acid side chains. Received 28 December 2001 Published online 13 September 2002     

Delayed ionisation of C70

A delayed ionisation experiment has been carried out on laser excited C₇₀ molecules. Ions and electrons are detected in coincidence to distinguish the ionisation of C₇₀ from that of C₆₈ molecules created by the dominant process, emission of C₂. From the time dependence of the C₇₀⁺ yield and the ratio to the C₆₈⁺ yield, we can deduce both the dissociation energy, E_d = 9.7 ±0.3 eV, and the pre–exponential factor, A_d = 1.7 ×10²⁰ s^-1, in the Arrhenius decay law for C₂ emission. The power of photon emission from neutral C₇₀ is also determined.     

Synthesis and photoluminescence study of anthracene based dendrimer and dendron

A new type of polyaromatic dendrimer composed of six anthracene groups was synthesized, which showed a monomeric fluorescence feature with a diminished quantum yield due to intramolecular self-quenching processes in the dendritic framework.